Over to Nitish Kumar

Except for Lalu Prasad and his party, the RJD, all of India must be pleased at the outcome of the Bihar election. After 15 years in power, much of it spent in supervising the rapid deterioration of governance in the state, Mr Prasad has been roundly defeated. His main ally, the Congress, was never expected to do well and the party president, Sonia Gandhi, admitted as much last week. But that does not necessarily mean that it is in mourning. Mr Prasad's defeat will reduce his ability to blackmail the UPA government at the Centre. This means the prime minister will have more elbow room now. One must hope he will put the increased manoeuvrability to good use. Certainly, credit is due to him and Ms Gandhi for curbing the pro-Lalu tendencies of the governor, Buta Singh, and in ensuring through the Election Commission that the election was free and fair so that the people could express their real preferences without fear. If the Congress can establish a track record over the next few years that it is once again doing the right thing, it will benefit in the next general election. As Ms Gandhi said, the people must stop regarding all political parties as venal, corrupt and untrustworthy.

The new chief minister, Nitish Kumar, has his task cut out. His job is not unlike a post-war reconstruction. Indeed, given how bad things are in Bihar, he does not have the luxury to attempt rectification serially. He will have to tackle problems on several fronts simultaneously. For that, restoring normal governance has to be his first priority. Whether Mr Kumar has the sagacity and ability to do this remains to be seen. But his record is good. Tempting though it might be to settle scores, he must focus on the mandate that he has been given""development first, social engineering later and only if necessary.

The Bihar economy will be less than easy to revive. Since about 1995, the state has witnessed enormous out-migration by people looking for jobs. So even if Mr Kumar is able to announce policies to revive investment, who will implement and manage these policies? It may not be bad idea to import managers from other states for specific projects. Agriculture is equally, if not more, important in the short term because of the impact it has on rural incomes. Productivity is low and needs to be increased. The key to success may well lie in a programme of massive land reform, which consists not only of redistribution but also consolidation of holdings. The state also requires massive rural investment. Although studies have shown that Bihar has not got as much money from the Centre as it may have deserved, Bihar under Lalu Prasad was rarely able to spend its allocations. Certainly, today, funds are not the primary problem. It is implementation that is needed.